On February 28, thousands of students from Bangladesh gathered in front of the Parliament in Dhaka, waving the national flag, sporting bandanas and headbands in the flag’s colours, green and red, ahead of the launch of Jatiyo Nagarik Party (JNP), a new political party launched by students in Dhaka.
The students were all supporters of the Students Against Discrimination that spearheaded a protest last year demanding reservation in government jobs. Last year’s protest snowballed into a people’s insurrection and led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest-serving leader, forcing her to flee to India.
Nahid Islam and other student leaders who played prominent roles in the protest, joined the interim government-led by Mohammad Yunus as advisers when he was brought in to run the country after Hasina’s departure. Islam resigned from the government to lead the party.
But the new political party, JNP, launched by students in Dhaka on Friday has sparked off a debate in Bangladesh’s political circles about the possible challenge it could pose to the country’s established parties in the national election scheduled at the end of the year. Nahid Islam, who became convenor of the JNP or the National Citizen Party said: “We are giving an alternative choice to people”.
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“We will keep Bangladesh and its citizens’ interest in mind while we join hands to build a new nation,” Islam added. “We are committed to adopting a new, democratic Constitution,” he said, reading out from the new party’s declaration. “A key goal is to draft this Constitution through an elected Constituent Assembly,” he said.
Path to an Islamic state?
The proposal for a new Constitution, floated by Islam during his time in the interim government, and supported by the other student advisers, perhaps also had Yunus’ blessings. There was a strong reaction to it from other political parties and sections of civil society, who saw it as a design to change the secular nature of Bangladesh and clear the path for an Islamic state.
This is likely to be an extremely contentious and contested issue in the future, say observers.
Bangladesh’s politics has been dominated by the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The launch of the student’s party comes close on the heels of the announcement by a group of retired army officers that they will be launching a political party and help stabilise Bangladesh during its time of crisis.
Since Hasina’s departure, Bangladesh has been going through a political churn marked by instability, high inflation, economic hardship and an extremely fragile law-and-order situation. “We are going through a chaotic situation, and criminals are taking advantage of it,” army chief Waker Uz Zaman acknowledged recently. He warned that Bangladesh will fall apart if the armed forces and security agencies in the country are undermined. The retired army officers claim that the army is the only institution that is respected throughout the country.
In Bangladesh’s history, the army has been involved in politics on several occasions. Waker’s remarks and the proposed party of the army officers have led to speculation if this was an attempt by the army to enter politics through the backdoor. Political observers believe that the army may not intervene immediately and will wait for the political process in the run-up to the national election to gather ground.
However, the possibility of the army playing a more proactive role if factional fights and clashes lead to a long phase of violence and instability in the coming months, is not being ruled out.
How will students fare?
The launch of the students’ JNP, however, has evoked a mixed reaction from political parties and observers as they tried to comprehend its implications on the country’s already fraught political situation.
While some believed that since Islam and the student advisers in the interim government were known for their affiliation to the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamists were behind the new party.
“The Jamaat is trying to use students to mainstream itself in Bangladesh politics in collusion with Yunus, who was brought to head the interim government by these students,” said a Dhaka-based political observer who did not want him to be identified. Yunus wanted to play a mentor to the students in order to stay relevant in Bangladesh’s politics beyond his term in the interim government, said the observer.
Many political parties are unhappy with Yunus for delaying the election to help the students to launch their political party and contest elections.
“Neutrality is the interim government’s greatest asset in ensuring a free and fair election. However, concerns over its impartiality have already emerged among the people,” BNPs acting chairman Tarique Rahman told party workers in a virtual address from London.
Anti-government protestors storm the then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s palace in Dhaka on August 5, 2024. Students turned their success of driving out Hasina into the main plank to gain political prominence and popularity.
| Photo Credit:
K.M. ASAD/AFP
Students in Bangladesh have a rich legacy of being vanguards in major protests, by showing exemplary courage and making sacrifices for the country. But it is not clear whether the students will be able to cash in on their popularity in the electoral field. Traditionally, major political parties have their respective student’s wings in universities and colleges. This is the first time the students are breaking away from that mouldto enter the murky field of electoral politics.
Opinions divided
“The students are bound to make a positive impact on the electorate since most are sick of being ruled by either the Awami League or the BNP and are desperately looking for a new option,” said M. Humayun Kabir, a former diplomat and the current president of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute in Dhaka.
He points out that the students have a clean image and could potentially help a country chronically suffering from corruption.
Others are sceptical. “The aura around the students that existed for their sacrifice and courage in driving out Hasina could now fade since they have become yet another party in the fray,” said Shama Obaid, an organising secretary of the BNP. “Ultimately this new party will not have the resources and patronage tools to compete with the BNP and other established parties,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asian Institute at Washington’s Wilson Centre.
However, he believes that students’ entering politics is a significant development since they have been influential and often played a dominant political role since last year’s movement. Kugelman said the decision to launch the party indicates they have “enjoyed the taste of power and would like to maintain it through the electoral process.” Established parties such as the BNP might fear that the student’s party could eat into their vote bank but any concern will likely be limited, he added.
Some observers believe there is a division among the students within their party: between those who launched JNP and those who stayed back in the government as advisers. It is the “moderate” section that has come out to form the party. But as both are loyal to the Jamaat, the Islamists gain either way.
Awami League’s importance
The Awami League, which has traditionally enjoyed a vote share of around 40 per cent, even during its toughest hours, is in the midst of a debate: should it be included in the electoral process to show the world that free and fair elections can be held in a post-Hasina scenario?
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But the BNP, which stands to gain in the absence of Hasina, and is confident of forming the next government if the election is held as per schedule, is reluctant to add the Awami League in the electoral fray. There is little chance for the BNP to get the Awami League vote since Hasina’s supporters were under relentless attacks from BNP cadres in the months since her departure.
The students are also vying for that vote share. But that too looks doubtful, as they had turned their success of driving out Hasina into the main plank to gain prominence and popularity. “No election in Bangladesh can be legitimate if the Awami League, the biggest party in the country, is forcibly kept out from contesting,” said Ashim Kumar Ukil, Publicity Secretary of Awami League’s Central Committee.
If the Awami League is kept out of the election, most of its supporters will stay away from the polling booths, he added.
Bangladesh’s political uncertainty must not spiral into violence between rival groups that are fighting each other to emerge as the dominant political force in the country.
While it is difficult to predict how matters will unfold, the coming months are sure to generate much interest, not just in Bangladesh, but far beyond its borders.
Pranay Sharma is a commentator on political and foreign affairs-related developments. He has worked in senior editorial positions in leading media organisations.